


Muse

by cauldron_on_fire



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-16 08:49:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18518050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cauldron_on_fire/pseuds/cauldron_on_fire
Summary: I worked on this for a while, so hopefully its good. ;a;





	Muse

**Author's Note:**

> I worked on this for a while, so hopefully its good. ;a;

He'd always been artistically inclined, just jumping from one thing to the next when he felt the need for change. Painting steadied his hands when he was so mad he shook, music helped him work through a lot of his emotions. Though he never really settled on one so he went all out in whatever held his interest at the time.

 

Then the art block set in. His muse was suddenly under a thick veil of mystery and wouldn’t show itself no matter what he tried. He picked up his old camera to attempt to bring it back into focus; every picture was blurry and off. He plucked furiously at his guitar until the strings screamed untuned notes. He threw paint onto canvas until he was wearing more paint than the canvas was. Everything just turned out wrong, and the only thing to even out his frustration was listening to his favorite music.

 

The day Sal Fisher showed up was the day his muse jumped out and showed itself to him in it's full glory. Before his muse had been fickle and fleeting, jumping back and forth from his hobbies, dancing a dance that he just couldn’t keep up with; playing chase in the worst way. The day Sal introduced himself was possibly the best day of his life. The boy with the strange prosthetic face lit a fire in his creative streak. Never before had he had such an ache to create new art. Suddenly it all clicked.

 

The first time Larry asked if he could draw his new friend, he waited with baited breath for an uneasy yes. Sal sat uncomfortably on Larry’s bed as he was sketched. The blue haired teen found himself surprised to see just how quickly Larry had gotten a shaky preliminary sketch and showing him just what he’d drawn. It was simple, yet complementary, focusing heavily on the dead eyed stare Sal had given him during the process. Intense and focused as the gears in Sal’s head turned, just trying to figure out what Larry was thinking as he drew.

 

From then on out, he was much more willing to sit for Larry’s art sessions. Portraits, songs, poems, pictures; anything Larry could get his hands on. His paintings went from monochromatic to colorful and full of life. Photography was more candid, seeming more purposeful than staged and dull. And the music! Sheets and sheets of pure raw emotion fueled by the curious gaze of the blue haired teenager that had graced Larry’s life.

 

There were never spoken questions, at any given moment during the taller teen would simply reach for whatever he needed and begin to create. 

 

Sal never asked why he was so fascinated, but Larry could easily tell that certain questions ran through both of their heads when they had down time. When they weren’t hunting ghosts, when things were quiet, Sal was suddenly put on this pedestal for whatever Larry wanted. But it wasn’t always like that, lots of the time it was just them being what they were; kids. Better yet, teenagers. 

 

When life was coming all too fast, expected to act like adults but still treated as children. Patronized in such a way that justified teenaged rebellion. Like most 15 and 16 year olds, they took up lots of things they weren’t supposed to, but totally expected to. Sneaking out, partying, drinking, and smoking was all up their alley. Sally usually could sneak cigarettes from his dad when he fell asleep at the computer and Larry was pretty good at lifting the alcohol from the liquor cabinet in the living room. Everyone in their group also contributed to this sort of behavior, not that the adults were paying much attention to them anyhow.

 

Getting stoned and playing video games on an old beat up PlayStation two until Lisa had to tell them all to go to bed because of how late it was.  Playing music so loud people on the second floor would complain, then joking about losing their own hearing just moments after being told to turn down the music. 

 

Larry’s creative streaked didn’t seem to die, he just became more involved. Like the day Sal had grabbed a blank disposable camera just sitting around in his and his dad’s things to take with on an outing. That was probably the first time Larry had been in front of a camera in quite a while. He cracked an awkward smile as Sal carefully positioned the camera so that they could both be in the frame. It was shaky at best, but they didn’t know until it developed and they got it back.

 

“Wow it's been a while since I’ve had a disposable camera.” Larry commented as Sal snapped pictures of the rest of their friends by the lake’s edge.

 

“We can’t all afford those professional cameras, dude.” Sal shot back, knowing the other didn’t mean any harm by his comment.” Just enjoy the day for once and let me handle the picture taking.”

 

Larry couldn’t argue with that logic. Happily spending the rest of the day with his friends. Everyone was so excited to get the pictures back that Sal had been right and no one cared that some of them were a little blurry. Larry held the copy of his selfie with Sal like it was the most professional picture he’d ever seen even though it was probably one of the more blurry ones.

 

In freshman year alone, Larry’s wall filled up with tons of shitty pictures of him and his friends. Lisa could barely keep up with the revolving door of teens through her house, though she knew Larry was a good enough kid to clean up whatever they were getting into. 

 

Before they could even blink it was junior year and everyone begin buzzing about college prep and prom. Larry competed in a few art contests here and there, but never placed very high. In the contests he would use pieces without Sal in them, to save his friend from anymore issues.  It never bothered him, and he was sure Sal was grateful for that.

 

High school will forever be brutal for those who go through it, on top of the weird shit that goes down in the apartments, and being the resident ghostbusters. Larry stuck to Sal like glue, and the feeling was mutual.

 

“We basically live together at this point, huh?” Sal said after a long silence as the pair had just finished a joint in the tree house. Talking about plans for the future, the little details of what they would do after graduation, what college they would go to. Of course they would stay in Nockfell until this whole cult thing was figured out, but after that? They didn’t know.

 

Larry nods with a content smile,” That’s the plan, roomie.”

 

There had hardly been a day since Sal moved in that the two had been apart for more than a few hours. They had quite a few classes together throughout the day, the same lunch period, and then walked home together after school. Larry could only recount one time they didn’t hang out for a few days and that was amidst an argument he couldn’t remember the details about anymore.

 

Sal erupted in laughter, over something so simple.  His smile only grew with his friend’s infectious laughter, Sal had gotten so comfortable around him. Seeing Sal without his mask on was a great joy for Larry, no matter how many times he’d seen Sal’s face. Getting to see the giant goofy smile on the other’s face, taking in all the details of each scar. The way his upper lip sat just above his right canine from being torn and healed wrong; to the scars over his left eye, and his right glass eye. The slight delay of movement of the muscle behind the porcelain  still conveyed his emotions. The sparse eyebrow hairs and where they just couldn’t grow anymore from the trauma.

 

“Dude, you’re like… Super fucking gorgeous.” Larry admitted, leaning on an old milk crate, sitting across from Sally in the tree house. Sanity Falls played quietly in the background on the boombox. As Sal’s laughter died down, suddenly they were both aware that Larry was staring directly at Sal’s actual face and being completely sincere.

 

“Don’t make it weird, Larry face.” he jokes, but still nervously tugs on an lock of blue hair. It's certainly not the first time his friend’s had surprised him like this, it just took him a moment to adjust to praise as opposed to insults he was used to.

 

Larry fumbles for his camera,” dude hold still.”

 

Sal settles back as the other angles the camera to where they could both be in the picture. Larry puts his arm around him and throws up a peace sign, pressing the button the best he could with one hand. The polaroid spit out the standard instant film framed pictures. Larry grabs the edge of it quickly and sets it aside and sets up for another photo.

 

“It's rare for you to want to be in the picture.” Sal chuckles softly, watching him fiddle with the time shutter. 

 

“Just feels right.” Larry shrugs, taking the same milk crate he’d been leaning on earlier and stacking a few books up to set the camera at their eye level. He only had a few moments before the camera would snap the picture so he had to time it right.

 

Quickly he grabbed Sal gently by his shoulder and faced him, pressing his forehead to his friend’s. Something in his movements were so decisive even if he was acting on impulse. Larry looked straight into Sal’s eyes and uttered just a few words,” you are my muse, Sal Fisher.”

 

The sound of the camera shutter was like thunder to them, and then it was quiet. The Sanity Falls CD had come to an end in the boom box, all that was left was their breathing. Sal was speechless; fearless leader, now quiet as a mouse.

 

The thought had crossed his mind but never seemed to stick, hearing Larry say it aloud made it all click. He sat stunned as his best friend moved away from him and reached for the instant film the camera dispensed. Larry probably had dozens of pictures of him and Sal alone, in these heart-to-heart moments captured hastily on an old polaroid. 

 

Larry seemed to have that effect on him.Every once in a while, he would speak such poetic words that would loose meaning if spoken a second time. The way Larry would just compliment his friends like he was stating common knowledge was intoxicating. He’d once caught Todd so off guard with one that he nearly broke a key off his keyboard while they worked on a project. 

 

“Dude you okay?” He asks, moving back into the space he left; if not as close as he could get to his best friend.

 

“Y-yeah, lemme see.” Sal reaches out to grab at the picture in Larry’s hand. The photo was so clear, the shock on Sal’s face priceless. The expression on Larry’s face showed nothing but affection for the other. 

 

Sal couldn’t look away from this captured moment, but his attention was pulled away when he felt Larry’s hand gently guiding his face towards him. Larry could hardly help himself, as he tended to act on instinct, bringing Sal closer and closer. 

 

“Punch me if you hate it.” his lips brushed against Sal’s as he spoke just before kissing him. But there was no punch that Larry seemed to be expecting, all there was was acceptance. His muse, his love, accepted. 


End file.
